Some 3 billion people in the world live outside the cash economy in the world’s poorest nations. Food security and regular supply are their daily concerns. Chronic malnutrition is a leading cause of death and disease for them. Young children are amongst the most affected. One child every 5-10 seconds dies from undernutrition. Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness for someone every minute. Most people in tropical and subtropical countries are iron deficient.
Our goal is to provide information that enables people to choose the right plant for their environment, to give them stable food production and a greater choice of plants to enrich their diets and improve their nutritional wellbeing.
The plant fact sheets listed in this collection are only a small portion of those available from FPI. Please check your plant inquiries in the ECHO Search and reference the FPI plant database for further information.
Most of the plants selected to list here are further described in country-specific publications by Food Plant Solutions (FPS in the Search).
8000 Starchy Staples
7000 Legumes
6000 Leafy Greens
5000 Fruits
4000 Vegetables
3000 Nuts, Seeds, Herbs, and other foods
819 Issues in this Publication (Showing issues 4000 - 4000) Previous | Next
Jatropha curcas - Physic Nut
Edible Portion: Leaves, Caution, Honey, Seeds
A high shrub or small tree. It is deciduous and has a thin crown. It is up to 5-8 m high. It has milky sap. The leaves have 3-5 lobes. They are 6 cm long by 15 cm wide. Flowers are separately male and female on the same plant. They are small and yellowish-green. They are at the ends of the branches. The fruit is a yellow capsule. Plants are pollinated by insects. Seeds are black and 2 cm long by 1 cm wide. They are rich in oil.
Lagenaria siceraria - Bottle Gourd
Edible Portion: Seeds, Leaves, Fruit, Vegetable, Flowers
A pumpkin family plant. It is an annual vine with large leaves. It can grow 3-9 m long and spread 3-6 m wide. The thick stems have furrows along them. It can climb over logs by attaching the tendrils which grow out of the stem near the leaf. The leaves are large and have soft hairs especially underneath. Flowers of both sexes are borne in the same plant. The plant produces male flowers first and these are on long stalks. Next it produces female flowers on short stalks. Flowers are large and white. They can be 10 cm across. They are mainly pollinated by insects. Fruit vary in shape. The fruit can be 8-90 cm long. They have brown seeds in a whitish green pulp. There are several varieties.
Limnocharis flava - Yellow Velvetleaf
Edible Portion: Leaves, Flowers, Leaf stalks, Vegetable
A herb which grows in water. The leaves form tufts. They are oval and 15-18 cm long by 12 cm wide. The leaf stalk is angular and 30 cm long. The flower head in at the end of the shoot and has a long flower stalk. There is a sheath like a membrane near the base. There are 5-10 flowers together. They are yellow.
Lonicera caprifolium - Italian Honeysuckle
Vegetables
Edible parts - Fruit, Flowers, Shoots
A deciduous climber. It grows 4.5-6 m long. It can be grown as a ground cover. The leaves are in fused pairs 5-10 cm long. The flowers are creamy-white to yellow. They can have pink tints. The flowers are 5 cm long. They are cupped by the bluegreen uppermost leaves. The fruit are orange-red berries.
Malva neglecta - Common Mallow
Edible Portion: Leaves, Vegetable, Seeds, Fruit, Nectar, Flowers
An annual herb about 0.5 m high. It is mostly low lying. The leaves are round or kidney shaped and 2-5 cm across. They have shallow lobes and a wavy edge. There are fine teeth around the edge. The flowers are pale lilac with darker veins. They are small and in stalked clusters in the axils of leaves. The petals are deeply notched on the outer edges. The fruit are nutlets which are brownish-green when ripe. They have smooth hairy backs.
Mirabilis jalapa - Four O'Clock Plant
Edible Portion: Leaves, Seeds - Spice, Flowers - Colouring, Vegetable, Root - Tea
A bushy herb. It can grow as an annual plant but it can keep growing from year to year from the thick tuberous root. It grows to 60-200 cm high and spreads to 60 cm wide. The stem is short, thick and branching. The leaves occur opposite one another. They are green and oval or sword shaped. They taper to the tip. They are 6-9 cm long by 1-4 cm wide. The lower leaves have leaf stalks while the upper leaves do not. The flowers are like tubes and expand towards the top forming a funnel shape. They are 6 cm long by 3 cm wide. They are red, white, yellow or purple. They have a scent. The flowers open in the afternoon. The flowers occur in clusters at the ends of branches. The fruit are almost round, black nuts.
Solanum macrocarpon - African Eggplant
Edible Portion: Leaves, Fruit, Flowers, Vegetable
An annual plant. It can keep groing for some years. The leaves are dark green and glossy. The leaf stalk is not well defined as the leaf blade runs down into the stalk. Leaves are generally not very hairy. The flowers are purple or sometimes white. The flowers are large. The fruit are are round and greenish white but become orange-yellow or brown when fully ripe. They are hard or firm with long calyces around the fruit.
Aleurites moluccanus - Candle Nut, Country Walnut
Edible Portion: Kernel, Seeds, Nuts, Vegetable
A large tree up to 40 m tall and 1 m through at the base. The bark is rough. The leaves are large and can be round, triangular or have several lobes. The leaves have a pale colour. The leaves are alternate, silvery green and crowded near the tips. Young leaves are hairy and sometimes lobed. The leaves, leaf stalks and flowers are all covered with short soft hairs. There are 2 distinct brown glands where the leaf blade and stalk join. The flowers are small and white and in large groups on the ends of branches. Male and female flowers are separate but on the same tree. The female flowers are on the end surrounded by small male flowers. The fruit is a large (4 to 5 cm across) green 2 lobed berry with 1 or 2 large (2.5 cm across) seeds with a hard corrugated shell. They do not open naturally to release the seeds.
Phyllostachys aurea - Fishpole Bamboo, Golden Bamboo
Edible Portion: Seeds, Stem, Cereal, Shoots, Vegetable
A bamboo. It forms clumps. It has strong underground stems. It grows 3-10 m tall. The lower internodes are very short. The stems are tough and erect. They are smooth and olive-green. They are more yellow in the sun. They are 25-40 mm wide. The leaf joints are enlarged and produce attractive yellow leaves. These are 5-10 cm
Abelmoschus manihot - Aibika, Edible Hibiscus
Edible Portion: Leaves, Flower buds, Vegetable, Root, Fruit, Pods
A branched shrub up to 2 m or more high. It has rounded twigs which are green and smooth. The leaves are simple, smooth and with 3 to 5 lobes. The leaves are large and can vary in shape. Normally the leaves are very dark green, but occasionally pale green types occur. The leaf stalks are 6 to 13 cm long. The stalks can be green or have red colours on them. The flowers are borne singly and are yellow with dark purple centres. They are produced on mature bushes and the flowers are hibiscus like. The fruit pods are rather stiff or with bristly hairs. They are a dry capsule with many small seeds. Plants can last for a year or for several years. Old plants produce a hibiscus type flower
